The Daily Tar HeelThursday, November 30, 19895
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From staff and wire reports
Average N.C. income rising
North Carolina's per capita in
come is on the rise as it is going up
faster than in most other states.
. t '.L
out u is rising unevenly, wun
J I certain urban areas showing sharp
gams while many rural areas lag far
behind, according to a report com
piled by Roy Carroll, vice president
for planning with the UNC system
in Chapel Hill.
Data compiled by Carroll put the
state's per capita income in 1988 at
$ 1 4,304 almost 1 5 percent below
the national average, but a signifi
cant improvement over previous
rankings.
The 1988 figure ranked North
Carolina 35th among the 50 states.
- - In 1980, the state ranked 40th.
Since 1980, North Carolina's per
capita income has grown at a faster
rate than all but seven other states.
We've really made some remark
able progress," Carroll said Mon
day. "But still, we've got a long way
to go."
The darker side of the figures is
that the higher income is not perva
sive statewide. The greatest mcreases
were limited to nearly 20 urban
counties.
The statewide average masks
some wide discrepancies between
rich and poor counties. Some of the
richer counties average incomes
were almost twice those of the poor
est counties, most of which were
rural.
Only 18 of North Carolina's 100
counties exceeded the statewide
average. Most of those were urban
counties.
Trolleys to run in Carrboro
Chapel Hill's two trolleys will
finally run in Carrboro next month
but not because the Board of
Aldermen had a change of heart.
The trolleys will run three con
secutive Saturdays beginning Dec.
2 from the Morehead Planetarium
along Franklin Street to Carrboro on
the route the Downtown Commis
sion originally planned the buses to
travel. The trolleys will travel along
Main Street, then past Carr Mill
Mall to the Carrboro Town Hall and
back again to the planetarium.
The trolleys will run for three
Saturdays this December, thanks to
a deal between the Chapel Hill
Carrboro Downtown Commission
and the owners of Carr Mill Mall.
Downtown Commission Co-di
rector Debbie Dibbert said earlier
this month the runs would be sup
ported by the Carr Mill Mall in
Carrboro
"It's kind of a preliminary test by
the owners of Carr Mill to see if the
market is there," Dibbert said.
Housing market easing
The national real estate market
looks like it will be ripe for those
buying homes in the next decade.
Home sellers have had an advan
tage over buyers in much of the
country through the 1980s, but that
situation is likely to change in the
early 1990s.
Among the chief reasons are a
large inventory of unsold homes in
many parts of the country, falling
mortgage rates and expectations of
cuts to come, and a relative decline
in the home-buying population be
tween the ages of 25 and 34.
The mid-20s to mid-30s age group
that produced a bulge of demand
and higher prices in the 1980s is
now shrinking as a percentage of the
population.
Eight N.C. companies in top 400
Eight North Carolina companies
were on Forbes' new list of the
nation's 400 largest private compa
nies.
Three Greensboro firms made the
list: B url ington Industries, with sales
of $2.2 billion; Cone Mills, $688
million; and Halstead Industries,
$499 million.
Charlotte also was home to three
companies on the Forbes list: the
Belk department store firm with $2.4
billion; McDevitt & Street, a con
tractor with $868 million in sales;
and Hendrick Management, an auto
dealership ownership with $589
million in sales.
Other N.C. firms on the list in
eluded Merchants Distributors, a
Hickory-based food wholesaler with
sales of $867 million; and Investors
Management, a Raleigh-based res
taurant operator with sales of $474
million.
Experts
By CRAIG ALLEN
Staff Writer
A commercial flashes onto the
screen, touting a certain brand of beer.
The commercial, 30 seconds of "the
good life," a life to be found in a 12
ounce can of beer, attempts to show
drinkers, especially underage drinkers,
what they are missing.
They are missing either the pleasure
or the pain of alcohol.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my
mind that through its seductive appeal,
advertising affects underage consump
tion of alcohol," Jeff Georgi, director
of counseling at Chaps-Koala Center in
Durham, said in a telephone interview.
Georgi said beer companies targeted
the underage drinker and often based
O
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Merchants' hopes ho
DTHEvan Eile
Seniors Lori Dreyer and Suzanne Stewart check out evergreens
Triangle labor shortage
may create job options
By KEVIN GREENE
Staff Writer
Triangle businesses are experienc
ing a labor shortage that could turn the
area into a seller's market, according to
a summer survey of the fastest growing
businesses in the area.
According to the recently released
survey by the Kenan Institute of Private
Enterprise, businesses in the Raleigh,
Durham, and Chapel Hill areas have
had difficulties finding capable work
ers for certain jobs in the last five years.
The results of the first Triangle Area
Business Survey, directed by Arne L.
Kalleberg, a UNC sociology professor,
highlight new constraints faced by area
businesses in recruiting and retaining
productive employees.
Triangle businesses are offering
added incentives such as daycare, health
insurance and bonuses to adapt to short
ages of qualified labor and to help re
duce employee turnover.
The study asked questions about the
personnel policies and practices of 153
fast-growing businesses located in
Wake, Durham and Orange counties.
The study focused on firms' recruit
ment and hiring practices, training
programs and efforts to retain and mo
tivate qualified workers.
The Kenan Institute and the
University's Division of Academic Af
fairs and sociology department funded
the survey, which was conducted last
April and May.
The businesses surveyed included
construction, manufacturing, retail and
wholesale trade companies and service-oriented
businesses. S ixty-eight per
cent of these companies were located in
Wake County, followed by Durham
with 23 percent. Orange county busi
nesses accounted for 9 percent of those
surveyed.
Selection of the companies was based
on Dun and Bradstreet's Dun's Market
Indicators (DMI), which indicated the
"high growth" businesses in the Tri
angle. The survey reported that 80 percent
Adls affect u
advertising campaigns on qualities
which young people hold in high re
gard, including peer acceptability,
sexuality- and a fun, carefree lifestyle.
'Those are the high points of Madi
son Avenue's focus when selling alco
hol," Georgi said.
A report prepared by Fleishman
Hillard Inc., a public relations firm
representing Anheuser-Busch, said the
company's advertising was typified by
ads which promote responsible drink
ing. The report said there was "much
work to be done discouraging underage
drinking. But there is no indication that
beer and wine advertising are causes of
this problem."
Paul Nagy, director of the Duke Day
of the companies questioned had diffi
culty finding capable workers for cer
tain jobs in the past five years, while 60
percent of the businesses had difficulty
retaining capable workers for some jobs
in the past five years.
The survey noted that the Triangle's
record low unemployment rate less
than 3 percent in 1 988 made it harder
to recruit and hire qualified workers,
and some businesses experienced a
labor shortage.
Nearly 25 percent had difficulty fill
ing technical, professional and mana
gerial positions.
According to the companies sur
veyed, Triangle businesses had the most
difficulty in filling the following jobs:
secretaries, stenographers, computer
programmers, bookkeepers, billing and
accounting clerks and technical sale
workers.
The median annual salary of the
hardest-to-fill jobs was $23,500, com
pared to an average annual salary of
$16,000 for occupations identified as
easy to fill.
Jim McMahan, manager of the
RaleighWake County Employment
Security Commission agreed with the
survey's conclusion that a labor short
age exists in the Triangle.
"Yes, there is a labor shortage in our
area, especially in service and retail
areas," he said. "With recent large
developments, such as out at RDU air
port, there are a large number of service
and retail companies that are not fully
staffed."
The survey indicateda shortage of
qualified employable candidates as the
most common reason Triangle busi
nesses have a problem filling positions.
"The survey is also useful to stu
dents," Kalleberg said. "Because com
panies are having difficulties hiring ca
pable employees, especially in the la
bor market, the opportunities are great
for students in this area.
"Hopefully, this survey is the first of
an ongoing project that will publish
results every other year."
4tl r-f -.-w v. I
Hospital for Youth at Duke University,
disagreed. The Duke Day Hospital
specializes in the treatment of adoles
cents who suffer from both alcohol and
drug addiction.
"We have talked to young people
about certain advertisers who, although
they will not admit it, are directing their
products at them," Nagy said. "For
example, the ads tend to show good
looking people having a good time."
Nagy said commercial spokesmen
tried to portray alcohol as the key to a
"good time." Just as the Marlboro ciga
rette man is a symbol of manliness,
encouraging youngsters to smoke as a
statement of their maturity, young, tan,
attractive spokesmen in a party setting
sell beer to underage drinkers as a
for
By JUAN OSUNA
Special to the DTH
Expectations for this year's holiday
sales varied among area retail store
managers and sales personnel, but most
store managers said they foresaw or
hoped to see at least some increase in
sales over the last holiday season.
Ellis Perry, manager of Belk Leggett
at University Mall, said sales on the
weekend after Thanksgiving indicated
the season was off to a healthy start.
Some businesses rely more than
others on increased sales during No
vember and December. Mac McCul
len, manager of Kerr Drugs in the mall,
said there was usually at least a 40
percent increase in sales during the two
months.
In many of the mall's retail stores,
managers and salespeople said they
expected sales to double during the
holiday months. Predictions for the
seasonal increase ranged from 40 per
cent at Kerr Drugs to 150 percent at
Dollar Tree.
Some store managers, such as Robert
Little of Radio Shack, were reluctant to
give holiday sales estimates.
But gift buyers are not the only ones
driving the increase in sales, McCullen
said. People tend to spend more time
shopping indoors when cold weather
sets in, he said.
Among the many popular gift cate
gories were clothing, jewelry, .fra
grances and lingerie. Jewelry and fra
grances were among the most expen
sive gift items. Jeff Faulkner, manager
of Gordon Jewelers, said the average
sale at his store was between $500 and
$600. Valerie Schiano, a saleswoman
in Belk's fragrance section of Belk's,
said the store's most expensive fra
grance was Joy by Jean Patou, which
sold for $265 an ounce.
Schiano also said men were becom
ing more sophisticated and knowledge
able in choosing a fragrance for their
wives or girlfriends, although the great
Career Corner
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Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Public Financial Management
First Wachovia Corp.
Proctor & Gamble
Norton Co.
Trust Company Bank
David Michael & Co. Inc.
Provident Life & Accident
United Carolina Bank
Vista Chemical Company
Bank South Corporation
Bankers Trust
Burlington Industries
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Ford Motor Company
Gallo Winery
Burlingotn Industries
F.N. Wolfe & Company
SAS Institute, Inc.
DTH Graphic
erase onirwiiini
symbol of "good times."
"For vodka, for beer, for some forti
fied wines, for malt liquors, folks (in
the advertisements) are always in the
early-20's age group," Georgi said.
Although the raising of the drinking
age from 19 to 21 in 1986 makes high
school and college student markets
largely off-limits, Georgi said, beer
companies still focused on these groups.
Before the change in the drinking
age, beer companies openly targeted
the college age group, Georgi said,
even coming onto campuses to sponsor
parties complete with liquid refresh
ment. He cited the traditional rush to Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla. during Spring Break
as an example of a marketing campaign
id ay
ho
"Ym making my gifts. I hate the com
mercialization of Christmas. It is a big
money game."
Claudia Greene
T
variety of fragrances available can
confuse many buyers.
Ivey's lingerie saleswoman Teresa
Wells said, "Garter belts are back."
She also said not all males who buy
lingerie buy it for a spouse or girlfriend.
"A little boy who came in the other
day wanted to buy a bra for his mother,"
she said. The boy was only 3 or 4 years
old, she said.
Denise Torain, assistant manager of
University Mall's Night Gallery, said
men should not feel so uncomfortable
about buying lingerie as gifts. "Our
staff is really trained to help men choose
quickly, because we know they feel
uncomfortable," she said.
Many retail salespeople find the
holiday season to be a challenging
period. Perry said, "When they're bus
ier, they're at their happiest."
Increased sales often mean increased
earnings in commission for salespeople.
For example, Belk's employees can
earn from 7 percent to 11 percent in
commission.
Kim Bergman, a saleswoman at the
mall's Record Bar, said selling was not
as big a hassle as buying.
"I'd rather be in here working than
doing the actual shopping," she said.
Many retail salespeople said they
simply enjoyed being with people.
"I wouldn't work anywhere else but
retail," said Joyce Kelly of Kerr Drugs.
"I love the general public."
Salespeople are not the only ones
affected by the holiday rush. Mike
Smith, University Mall's security di
rector, said shoplifting wasdefinitely a
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by a national beverage company which
began years ago.
"They have just gotten more clever,"
Nagy said. Brewers made their adver
tisements more subtle, but still target
young drinkers, he said.
A trend in advertising which alarms
Georgi is the portrayal of drinkers
having a special one-on-one relation
ship with their beverage of choice.
"You get the real feeling from print
advertising that there is a special rela
tionship between the drinker and his
alcohol," Georgi said. "For the addicted
drinker, that is the real situation."
"They (advertisers) direct the ads at
young people who are ready to cross
the line from abusive to addictive use,"
he said.
season
problem during the holiday season.
Many consumers also get ripped off
when they buy things and then leave
them in their cars while they continue
shopping.
People can deter thieves from break
ing into cars by hiding these items in
the trunk, Smith said.
Consumer attitudes towards the
holiday season also varied.
Andrew Williams, a UNC student,
said he would spend only about $30 on
some Christmas cards and small gifts to
put in stockings. He said he didn't like
shopping too much.
"I'm poor," Williams said. "If I had
a million dollars, I would undoubtedly
spend more."
But not everyone enjoys the spirit of
holiday shopping.
Claudia Greene was critical of the
tradition of buying gifts during the
Christmas holiday.
"I'm making my gifts," she said. "I
hate the commercialization of Christ
mas. It is a big money game."
She said people forgot that the true
meaning of Christmas lies in the birth
of Jesus Christ.
"It's his birthday, but he's not the
guest of honor," she said.
But often, the holidays are the most
gratifying time of year for children.
David Boyce, otherwise known as
Santa Claus, said kids really believe in
him. It is not until about age 10 that
they wave and say, "You're not Santa."
These days, kids ask for electronic
toys such as musical keyboards and
computer games, he said.
Resume Drop Dec. 6
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Source: University Career Planning and Placement
J